Sounds to me like you are doing the best you can do. I have a drink now and then too, but very little. Considering what all of us put up with health wise, I figure a nip for medicinal purposes can be OK. take care of yourself. ginnie

Eating out leads to very high fat intakes. Lots of sodium and lots of MSG. MSG is very very bad for nerve pain. It must be avoided.

High fat creates thick blood, and this compounds your abnormal protein issues greatly.

For more information on the content of restaurant and processed foods see this wonderful website...

http://eatthis.menshealth.com/home
This is not just a "diet" site....it is a lifestyle site.
If your PN is because of the abnormal proteins which you have not had completely evaluated yet...you cannot afford to make your blood any thicker.

I would make sure your triglycerides are low as well. If those are elevated, and you haven't mentioned that here, as well, that is quite serious. Eating sugary foods and high carbs, will elevate triglycerides in some people and this thickens the blood as well.
http://www.rush.edu/rumc/page-1160429788373.html

So it is very important that you
Avoid all MSG (this increases pain)
Avoid high saturated fat
Avoid high polysaturated fat
Avoid high sodium
Avoid high sugar intake
Avoid high carb consumption.

Everything in MODERATION. Avoid fried foods. There are good choices in restaurants, and the first link in the thread helps you choose those. I saw him on Rachel Ray's show once. He had information for college (young) people living in dorms, on how to choose foods there that are more healthful than others.
He appears on Yahoo in the health news frequently with his nutrition evaluations of restaurant food. This is very important for everyone, but for people with abnormal proteins in the blood thickening things up....it is more critical to make sure your diet is not making the problems worse.

For people who don't know how to cook... there is a quick way to
get flavorful food with little skill. I use a tabletop oven by Nesco like this:
http://homecooking.about.com/od/kitc...s/gr/nesco.htm

You can put a lean cut roast, chicken (cornish hens work well) or turkey (I use turkey parts available in groceries) on the wire support, along with veggies you want and cook all together --will take about an hour or so depending on size.
You can put potatoes, squash, yams, carrots, all in at the same time.
If you want to steam other veggies like asparagus, add them in just before the finish. I test everything with a fork..fork tender means done (veggie wise).
I put a little garlic and a bit of water and Mrs Dash seasoning under the wire support, and use this as a baste once or twice while cooking.
This steams the meat, makes it very tender and flavorful.
My grandmother taught me this. And I had an employee once whose dad made meals like this too for the family.( he was a single dad) and when she discovered I did it too, we had a great talk about it. This technique is great for smaller families and you can be doing other things while it cooks. Time saver over all.

I worked for 40+ yrs. Midnights for about 2 yrs+. Holidays too.
So I taught my husband how to do this, and he is very very untalented in the kitchen and he can do this. We broil our meats also so the fat
can drip out and away . There are many tabletop broilers. And microwaving veggies is easy to do. There are many affordable tabletop broilers out there.
Ours is like this one but a bit older:
http://www.homedepot.com/buy/delongh...l#.UJZmBWegbAk

Both of these allow for cooking and reducing high fat intake. The
food comes out very nicely, and quickly with no muss or fuss.
The Nesco oven makes everything so flavorful...it is astounding.
I get compliments all the time on the most simple meals. I've had people run out and buy one for relatives and themselves after eating with us!

We use flat iron cuts of our steak now. The excess fat drips out, and the meat is so tender like expensive cuts. So eating carefully, does not mean lots of money, lots of time, or fancy technique. Once you do it
for yourself, restaurant foods will slowly tarnish for you, and eventually you will realize how awful they can be. Restaurants have tons of preservatives in them, additives, etc that are not good for people when commonly consumed. Cooking at home, removes that risk as well.

Making diet changes takes time, so do something every week in a positive direction and soon you will be on your way to a new diet.

.
I'm addressing 2 issues here; alcohol consumption and food consumption. I'm a bit confused about them -I hope I can get some answers on these -I'm sure we all thought about this stuff.


Thanks, ginnie, - it's nice to know someone who understands the allure of alchol without being an alcoholic. The whole thing for me about drinking beer (I completely quit any hard liquor) is a social thing. I never drink alone, but when other friends of mine are having a few drinks, especially during the Holidays and stuff, I find myself wanting to "Join the party" as they say. Still I haven't drank more than a 6-pack of beer in a long, long time.

I've read that some men can drink up to 2 beers a day and be fine with with their PN -Ive also read (and this more acculturate on PN sites) - that you can drink alcohol in "Moderation". A few sites say quit completely.

I don't know what the "proper" advice here is on PN and alcohol. Certainly if you got PN from alcoholism, you should quit altogether -but what about other circumstances?

And what do they mean by "Moderation" anyway? Is it the same for all of us?

I do NOT drink a beer everyday, nor have I ever. However I will often drink 4 to 5 beers on a Saturday night if I find myself among friends doing the same. Is that binge drinking? I don't know.


To mrsD:

I totally agree on what you've said about food and lifestyle -there can be no diets, but more of a dietary change in our lives. However, it seems like society makes this especially hard for us. Over the last few months, I found myself really hard pressed about buying "Healthy" foods.

The truth is- it's very easy to buy junk food and too expensive to buy healthy food. How ironic, right? While a farmer's market asks for too much money on simple things like whole grain breads and fruits -and even worse at the deli, McDonald's offers the Dollar Menu on cheap and unhealthy foods.

I think it's fine to eat a burger from Mcdonalds at times, but not make a habit of it. Still, I find myself getting upset over how hard it is to get healthy foods at reasonable prices.

I live in Chicago, where the taxes on all things, especially food goods are the highest in the country. --so go figure.


.

lately i've neen experiencing mild numbness that comes and goes. im preparing for full sensation loss to come at some point and im not going to be too pleased when it does. unless by the grace of god this nerve support formula actually starts to work and cures me. by the way is there really any FULL cure for neuropathy because i've heard a lot of doctors say that its one of those things that once it starts you're stuck with it for life

another question i have is....could the abnormal protein on my blood test be due to the amount of protein i consume in my diet?

There are globulins and albumins in the blood and those come from the liver. The albumins are made from protein in the diet.
They also carry hormones around the body and drugs.

The other proteins, and you had done come from the bone marrow. They are different. All of the proteins in the blood of course come from protein you eat. But they have different functions. The bone marrow ones are antibodies.

I thought I gave you this link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monoclo...d_significance

You should ask your doctor for the actual results.
This link lists the tests usually ordered for blood proteins.
http://www.questdiagnostics.com/test...ripheralNeurop
So see which ones you had.

That's one of the most misleading things - Get that whole "Permanent Damage -Stuck-for-Life" Idea out of your head. It's depressing and can only hinder your healing process - plus it's simply NOT true. When I first heard of PN I was shocked to the core-thinking I'll be damaged for life. I am not healed up yet, but have definitely healed at-least some 70 percent so far. So I still have hope - and so should you.

Neuropathy is a set of "Symptoms" from other conditions - damaged nerves in particular that can come from a wide range of illnesses, trauma, alcoholism, diabetes, medication-poisoning, and much more.

Most cases are NOT permanent, but are long-lasting, meaning for months, as in "under a year" to a few years - and that's only in very extreme cases. I mean that certain numbness and or occasional slight aches will probably plagues us for the rest of our lives, but NOT the pain of it. Certainly not the extreme numbness, pain, or discomforts either. This meaning, that for the most part, we will get back to normal in time. Still, many will experience complete healing as well.

There are thousands of people who have gotten PN and beaten it completely. But most of them don't post their experiences on the net. I myself once had feelings that if I healed completely I would not post about it simply because people don't want to relive bad things in their lives. They simply want to put it behind them. ...Nevertheless PN DOES go away with the proper treatment - sometimes astonishingly fast, too.

The key point is getting the correct treatment for your PN condition. This will not be the same for everyone, because PN is usually a side-condition from an
underlying ailment.

An example of this is in diabetes, or in my case Cipro-Toxicity...very, very different causes. Each case is different but the mainstay is the same - "Damaged Nerves."

Essentially there's one rule to abide by -"Heal the Nerves & Heal the Illness". If you can do that you'll be healthy again. Or if worst comes to worst, you'll be very close to it. The premise here is to heal what's causing your Neuropathy.

It can be truly said that you need to do a lot of research yourself and be "proactive" on this. Use the knowledge your doctors give you, as well as your own - so that you can start giving yourself the proper treatments for your particular brand of PN. Obviously the faster you start getting the right treatment, the quicker you will heal.

you're right but as of right now me and my doctors dont know what is causing it. theyre sending me to a university to find out. and they have told me that sometimes the cause can NEVER be found OR that it might just be genetic and my body is hardwired for this to happen.

Regular doctors don't look at simple things we can do to help the nerves. Make sure you learn all about the supplements, stop sugar and simple carbs. That way, your nerves have a great chance to heal! Takes time!

@Mustang:

The nerve support formula will only work if you are deficient in B12 or have problems with thiamine metabolism.

Nutrient deficiencies are only one segment of PN. They only help those who need these nutrients for specific reasons.

There are over 100 causes of PN.

The Nerve support formula needs to be taken on an EMPTY stomach for best absorption of the B12.
http://www.realfoodnutrients.com/Neu...entsWSNNSF.htm

They say on the bottle to take with food and that is not correct.
B12 needs an empty stomach for best results. Otherwise it may not be absorbed at all. This is a common mistake. Supplement makers often don't know all there is to know out there about
bioavailablity. So if you are taking it with food, you need to change that.